Every time I get up to speak at a council meeting, my mouth and brain seem disabled with what feels like Gorilla Glue and I don’t get my points made properly. Now, taking my time and with the help of my son, I’m going to get it said unless this gets tossed by what seems like a council-friendly paper.
When listening to the comments by one council person and another, I am constantly reminded of something my favorite TV show, “Frasier,” said to his questionable agent in a show: “Your tongue could uncork a wine bottle!”
Last night (March 16) was worse than usual. Here’s an example. I had read that $60,000 or more would be spent on the marvelous tax-financed trip to Korea later this month in a desperate attempt to find money to maybe look more successful than they have been for far too long. But council member Mike Park clearly made the excuse for going as the budgeted $10,000 Sister City visit. He said they had been doing it for years and would keep doing it. I couldn’t understand why Mr. Park left out the $50,000 plus. In an effort to find that paragraph, I have been reading The Mirror papers all the way back past a month and not a word can I find. But when I was talking to a friend, this friend said it was in the Tacoma News Tribune. Now why I asked myself, would The Mirror not share such important news with the citizens of Federal Way? And now I also understand why Mr. Park felt safe limiting his information. All I can say is, there must be a party somewhere. Go open another bottle, Mr. Park.
Another instance of someone with the “corkscrew” talent was our new ceremonial mayor, Linda Kochmar. The other corkscrews on the council have sworn over and over that they all routinely cycle through each council person as mayor. If that is true, why has she never been mayor in almost 17 years? Corkscrew talk. That’s why. Now that the office is dead and almost over, the other corkscrews on the council have apparently decided this would get someone they have obviously thought incompetent out of the way and leave a clear path for them to use their offices as stepping stones to the strong mayor carrot. This even though they have been manipulating the position they hope to hold without recusing themselves, unlike council member Jim Ferrell, who declared for the office and recused himself right away as anyone with a straight tongue would do.
And just as an FYI for anyone who cares, we know the words “using the office as a stepping stone” came from a disgruntled has-been and was aimed at Mr. Jim Ferrell then just as it is now. Small wonder so many folks are swinging to Mr. Ferrell. He sure looks like the only person left on the council who speaks for us overtaxed voters they treat like second-class citizens. The ceremonial mayor Linda Kochmar used to be a people person, but apparently, getting that worthless title meant more to her than us. Here’s an example produced by a curly tongue. In her State of the City speech while going on and on about all the glories of Federal Way, she spent 5 or 10 minutes on Celebration
Park.
All the family picnics we have. The wonderful get togethers. On and on, but the words sports field, sports, team, soccer, baseball were never used. Need I go on?
Again I say, Jim Ferrell has my vote. And the way the money and offers of help are pouring in, I suspect a whole bunch more folks are beginning to notice who has curly tongues and who doesn’t.
Norma Blanchard, Federal Way
